An Essex-based father and son start-up, alongside an experienced mass production engineer, has revealed its new Photonics HoloSystem designed to make forgered documents easier to spot.  

Iris Photonics’ technology is designed to be used on identity documents and high security packaging for car parts, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment such as testing kits.  

Its holograms  recordings of microscopic diffraction patternsproduce three-dimensional images when illuminated 

Holograms are already used to authenticate and verify high security items, but the firm said that as technology has advanced, so too have criminal methods  

It believes that traditional embossed security holograms have become increasingly susceptible to forgery, but its new product – full colour security holograms – are a world first.  

Jonathan Henry Wiltshire, co-developer of the Iris Holograph, explained: “The hologram that we have developed allows for the numbering and personalisation of each and every hologram, even where they are rapidly created 

This proprietary technology sets a very high hurdle in security that criminals will be unable to surmount for many years to come.  To put the effectiveness of our hologram into perspective; even though Swiss banknotes incorporate reflection volume holograms, the images created by Swiss notes are almost unbelievably inferior to those of the Iris Hologram. 

The technology has been developed over two years in Witham, Essex and is now ready for its mass production system for full colour reflection